Shingeki no Kyojin/進撃の巨人 Run Them Red Lights

A/N: Cross-posted from Tumblr. This was originally for the three-sentence meme, where I asked people to give me a pairing and an AU and I would write a three-sentence story for it. But ah...this happened instead.

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_That was way too fucking close for comfort_, Levi thinks as he skids to a stop, wheels screeching loudly against the tarmac of the garage driveway.

The smell of burnt rubber is sharp in the cold night air as he steps out of his Skyline. He wrinkles his nose in distaste, pockets his keys, and barges right through the workshop to the doorway on the far wall.

"Ackerman!" He barks out. "Get your ass out here, I need fresh tires and a new paint job. Fucking bastard did one of the headlights, too."

No response.

He calls out again, the impatient growl in his voice getting him curious glances from the people scattered all around the workshop. He hears the clang of metal on metal somewhere on the other side of the doorway, closely followed by hurried footsteps echoing against tile, and finally a figure walks through the door.

"The fuck are you?" He asks the boy who is definitely _not_ his mechanic of three years.

"Mikasa didn't tell you? She's on holiday til the end of the month. I'm in charge around here til she gets back. Levi, right? She said you'd probably show up soon. I'm Eren by the way, Mikasa's step-brother."

Levi can feel his temper cresting like a wave in the pit of his gut.

"I don't know what the fuck is going on here, but no one but Mikasa Ackerman touches my fucking car and I have a race to win in three days. So are you going to get me your sister or will I have to fly to the fucking Bahamas and bring her back myself?"

The kid's head snaps back, and he laughs - _laughs_ \- right in Levi's face.

"I'm sorry," he gasps out. "It's just that - Mikasa wasn't kidding about you at all."

_Oh hell no_, Levi thinks.

"Right. Well you can tell your sister to have a great fucking life because if she thinks she can keep living off my money after this-"

"Look, don't worry. I know what I'm doing, promise," the kid says, already heading for the driveway at a light jog.

"Like hell you do," Levi growls after him.

The boy is bent over his open hood when he reaches the front of the garage. He fights the urge to rip him right the fuck away from his car because there wasn't even a single scratch on the bonnet, get a damn clue would you, but the kid is already calling over a bunch of other guys and firing off orders in a tone that was surprisingly reminiscent of his sister's.

When Armin, Mikasa's right hand man, comes running to his car, toolbox in tow and flashing him a reassuring smile before getting straight to work, Levi can only shrug and sigh in defeat. He makes his way to the back of the garage, through the doorway the kid came out of earlier, where he knows he can at least have a shower and a stiff drink before he has to potentially kiss his pride and joy goodbye.

He certainly doesn't expect to see his car sitting out front several drinks and a nap later, right where he left it and looking not a day older than when he first won it off some misguided cocky rich kid.

The boy - Eren - is standing next to it. His hands are tucked into the pockets of his hoodie, and he rocks back and forth on the balls of his feet as he watches Levi watch the car.

"Bet you're so damn proud of yourself, aren't you," he snaps, eyes still roaming across his Skyline's polished new exterior.

Eren's face scrunches up, but he somehow manages to keep grinning at the same time.

"Depends. Why don't you take her for a spin first?" He walks over to the driver's side door and opens it.

Levi feels like he's walking right into a trap, but better get it out of the way so he can have plenty of time to yell at everyone if something goes wrong.

He flicks on the ignition with a quiet _click_, and the car springs to life around him. Levi can tell straight away that something is different in the smooth purr of the engine, a raw power rumbling in the belly of his machine that makes his fingers tingle in anticipation.

"What the hell did you do, kid?" He asks Eren through his open window.

"I may have made a few adjustments. Go on, try it out," he coaxes, still beaming bright as the sun just starting to peek from the horizon.

"Get in," Levi orders.

"Huh?" Eren replies quizzically.

"I said get in. Anything goes wrong, I want you to be here to answer for it."

Eren simply shrugs, apparently deciding there was nothing more to it. He walks over to the passenger door across from Levi and sidles into the seat next to him.

Levi nudges the accelerator. The car leaps forward with the ease of a predatory cat, and soon the sky and the open road slip away in smears of grey and gold around them. Levi doesn't remember feeling this free since he was just a scruffy little street rat with big dreams and an even bigger attitude, hurtling up and down the mountains of Sao Paulo in his old man's older Dodge held together by shitty welding and sheer willpower.

Eren whoops beside him, his laughter ringing loud and clear through the roar of the engine.

_Not bad_, Levi thinks. _Not bad at all_.


End file.

Shingeki no Kyojin/進撃の巨人, Romance